Kingdom Of Everfree

Fluttershy giggles, Rainbow Dash snorts, Rarity blinks, and Apple Jack chuckles. "Suuuuuure." They drawl together.

Rainbow Dash slaps Apple Jack's arms. "Can you image it! Twilight a Vampire! She'd be all like, give me your books or I'll suck your blood and turn you into my slaves!" Rainbow Dash bursts into uproarious rumbling laughter, falling from her chair.

Pinky Pie just squints at Twilight's face and leans slowly across the table. Suddenly she dangles a large clove of garlic in front of her face. When nothing happens but Twilight turning her nose up at the smell she falls back into her chair. "Wow! For a second I thought you were serious. Don't joke like that Silly. I thought you'd actually turned into a vicious monster for real. It kind of would explain your appearance."

"I mean, you were standing in broad daylight." Apple Jack reasons.

"And you passed a religious symbol on the way here." Rainbow Dash adds.

"But you did say she was a blur when you saw her running to the Everfree and followed her." Fluttershy inputs.

"Yeah, and she left a hole in the floor when she ran." Rarity says.

"But it can't be true." Rainbow argues. "Vampires aren't real."

"Must I do this everytime." Royal's voice says from the doorway just in time for everyone to watch her bite deep into her own arm.

Twilight stands abruptly and tackles Royal, pinning her to the floor before lapping up the blood seeping from the wound.

"Twilight!" The others yell in shock.

"Shhhhh! Scootaloo is sleeping!" Royal hisses pulling Twilight from her arm. She turns a protesting Twilight to them, presenting Twilight's glowing red eyes and gleaming fangs.

Twilight twists around sinks her teeth into Royal's arm, drinking deeply.

"Twilight, control yourself!" Royal reprimands, her tone chiding.

Twilight blushes and retracts her teeth, taking one last lick before her fangs disappear into her gums. "Sorry." She turns her glowing eyes to her friends and smiles sheepishly.

Royal walks towards Twilight's friends- Twilight still in her grasp and hanging in the air- only for them to scramble away to the far corner, grabbing anything that could be used as a weapon on the way.

"Back up or Ah'll cut ya up like apples." Apple Jack drawls, holding a knife ready and placing herself between Royal and the others.

Royal stops moving but doesn't make any move to go away or drop Twilight.

"Now, Ah don't know what manner of evil magic y'all are using to replicate ponies from our memories or to create an evil Twilight dopel- dolpel- Dopole-" Apple Jack frowns hard as she tries to remember that damned word!

"Doppelganger." Royal supplies.

"Yeah! Ah don't know how y'all created that evil doppelganger, but y'all is gonna give us back tha real Twilight and Scoots If'n ya now what's good for ya." Apple Jack threatens.

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash agrees, raising the broom she'd grabbed higher.

Royal and Twilight slam their forehead's into their palms at the same time, letting out long disappointed sighs.

"I am not a Doppelganger you imprudent harebrained inane halfwit foals!" Twilight shouts, propping her hand on her hip even though she's hanging in the air, fixing her friends with her best annoyed mother face.

Apple Jack pales and drops her knife. "Ah only know one pony that can make that face."

"Or somepony that uses that many synonyms for the word idiotic." Pinky giggles, throwing her spoon to floor and bouncing over to the annoyed Bookworm. "Twily!"

"Sweet Celestia! You're actually Twilight." Rarity breathes.

"Does that mean she's actually a Vampire?" Fluttershy asks, hiding behind her mane as usual.

"This must be some kind of joke! How could you be a Vampire?!" Rainbow Dash bellows, clutching the broom like a life line.

"The Mistress of the Night, Luna. Or the dark entity that rests in her subconscious that you call Nightmare Moon," Royal answers. She flicks her wrist and resets her kitchen and dining room, replacing her table that had been flipped over and placing the chairs back. "Now if you're quite done destroying my home and making useless threats, please, have a seat so I can explain."

They sit back at the table and look to each other nervously.

Royal pulls out a chair and places Twilight in it before walking around the counter that separates the kitchen from the dining room, opening the fridge to pull some ingredients out. "Now, you must be wondering how Twilight was turned," Royal starts, dicing an onion in seconds before grabbing a bell pepper.

"She was hit by a powerful transformation spell from the Nightmare." Clover answers, appearing beside Royal and causing everyone except Royal to jump. "The Nightmare used it to try and gain quick control over the Mage Element before she was consumed by the power of the Elements of Balance, or Harmony as you call them," Clover explains, turning corporeal to grab a pepper only to barely keep her hand from getting chopped off.

"Yes!" Royal grunts, yanking the knife from the counter. "She has the power to speed up the process and if you hadn't already used the Elements she would have succeeded." Royal turns to the stove to begin cooking. "Now, fun facts about Vampirism. First, Vampire superstitions that are wrong. Religious symbols won't repel her, she can go out into sunlight she just won't be as powerful as in the night." Royal flips a mini pancake and stirs some kind of sauce. "Garlic just annoys her nose, she doesn't turn into a bat, if you stab her with a wooden stake it will only piss her off," Pinky Pie raises her hand, "She will never sparkle in the sunlight," Pinky drops her hand. "What else?" Royal asks herself as she finishes cooking.

"She does not go 'Blah blah blah!'" Clover supplies, clawing the air with the words.

"Yes!" Royal chuckles, setting the plate on table in the last spot at the table after Clover sits down.

"Okay! Is no one going to comment on a mare that just poofs into existence?!" Rainbow Dash bellows.

"Rainbow, she's obviously a ghost. I mean, it was startling but if Vampires exists then so can ghosts." Rarity says, waving it off.

"You are all taking this well." Twilight says, raising an eyebrow.

"You're our friend, Twilight. Even if you turned into an evil psychopath we would still try to be your friend and help you!" Pinky Pie says, giggling as she swipes her hand back and forth through Clover's chest.

Clover glares at the perky pink pony. "Do you mind!"

"Not at all!" Pinky giggles.

"I'll be right back." Royal says, leaving the room.

"So. Who's this?" Apple Jack asks, nodding towards Clover.

"I am the Cloven Mage, Clover the Clever." Clover introduces herself. "You must be the Element of Honesty."

Royal comes back carrying Scootaloo. She sets Scootaloo in front of the steaming plate of food before turning to Clover. "Did you take care of what I asked?"

"Yes, everything will be ready by the time you've finished here." Clover answers.

"Good! Now, back to explaining. Twilight-" Scootaloo tugs on Royal shirt. "Yes Little Sparrow?"

"What is it." Scootaloo asks, pointing to the food.

"It just sau-" She face palms. "Right, you ponies don't eat meat. I'll make you something else, Honey."

Scootaloo stops her. "No, I want to try it," She says, picking up the knife and fork.

Everyone holds their breath and the room fills with pregnant silence.

Scootaloo cuts off a piece of the omelet and raises it to her lips. As she chews everyone leans in. She freezes and Royal's heart sinks into despair. "Oh my gosh! It's so good!" Scootaloo exclaims, taking a larger bite.

Royal sighs in relief, clutching her chest. "I nearly died! I thought you didn't like it."

"I don't like it, I love it!" Scootaloo exclaims around her mouth full of food, causing everyone to chuckle.

Royal ruffles Scootaloo's mane. "Don't speak with your mouth full."

"Yes Ma'am!" Scootaloo says, mouth still full.

Royal smiles. "Now I can finish explaining. So, things that can hurt or kill Twilight or Vampires. Silver shredding their heart, their heads being cut off, and being incinerated." Royal pauses to wipe some food of Scootaloo's face. "As she gets older she will become more and more powerful. She can control other creatures but as she gets older she may potentially be able to read minds. She is faster, stronger, and has better reflexes than regular ponies. Twilight." Royal throws Twilight a cast iron skillet.

Twilight catches the skillet and crushes it in hand before fixing it with her magic.

"Vampirism also makes a unicorn's magic stronger. Same for a Earth ponies connection to the Earth, and a Pegasus' connection with the skies and weather. All senses will be heightened."

"Wait, so the older Vampires get the stronger they become? It's not from drinking blood?" Rainbow Dash asks.

"No. Vampires need blood strictly to survive. One of the original Eons, a God, created the first life upon Equis." Royal uses her magic to project an image of their world with a huge ghostly figure of a woman, her eyes glowing with immense power. The woman breathes onto Equis and the image zooms in to show a mid sized Earth pony stallion be built form the dirt. "The first life form to walk the Earth. The God created animals of all kinds to keep this stallion company and created a garden named Eden for him to live in peace." The God turns to mist and appears down on Equis with the newly made stallion. "'This is the beginning of all life for all creatures and to you, Adam, I give you the job of naming them as I have named you.' She tells him. 'A-"

"Why is he naked?" Rarity asks, averting her eye while also trying to pay attention.

"Because that's how it was supposed to have happened." Royal answers simply.

"Well could you do something about his dangling bits, there is a child at the table." Twilight hisses.

Royal blurs the stallion's cock and continues. "Adam named and nurtured all life in Eden. But he soon found himself lonely. 'Goddess,' He called to the heavens." The image of the Adam kneels and turns his head to them or the sky in his case. "'I have done all you have asked of me but I still am lonely.' The God pitied Adam and put him to sleep. She removed one of his ribs and from it created him a soulmate. She named this mare Eve." Royal swipes her hand and the image appears to that of two young stallions that looked like a combination of Adam and Eve. "Okay the story was getting to long so what basically happened was that an entity of evil lured Eve into eating a fruit that was forbidden and they were kicked out of Eden. Any questions?"

"What kind of fruit was it?" Apple Jack asks.

Royal shrugs. "No one really knows. So! Other Gods saw what the first was doing and decided to create new life to join pony kind." Several more ghostly figures with powerful glowing eyes appear and they each create different races to walk the face of Equis. "Something happened and Adam and Eve had two sons. Cain, the eldest and strongest." The tall red stallion with jet black hair and rippling muscles glows. "And Able, the gentlest." The blue lean stallion with the same black hair glows. "One day Cain, in a fit of jealousy, beat his brother to death." Cain beats Able brutally until there is nothing left.

"The Gods were in outrage. 'You must punish it!' They cried out. So she did. Upon Cain's hands she placed a symbol." On Cain's hands a crescent moon scarred with blood appears. "'You, Cain, shall walk this land and be shunned and forced to drink the blood of others to survive for spilling the blood of another's.' From that day forward the creatures with sharp teeth began to feed upon other creature to join Cain in his punishment. Wars rang out and the Era of peace crumbled. That's how the first Vampire was made and the tradition of Cutie Marks was born. The goddess was given the name Valdine Tepes, Dracula, The Raging Dragon, Mother of Vampires."

"So what y'all is telling us is that we have cutie marks because of Vampires." Apple Jack exclaims.

"No. She's saying you have Cutie Marks to represent who you truly are, they reveal your true nature. It's a warning to those that know how to read the marks." Twilight supplies.

"Exactly." Royal beams with pride. "She gets it."

"Do you have a Cutie Mark?" Pinkie Pie asks.

"No! Do you see anything on her hands?" Rainbow snarks.

"No! She has one, it's on her back!" Twilight says enthusiastically. She gets up from her chair, turns Royal around, and removes the mixed breeds shirt, all in the span of a few seconds.

Everyone except Scootaloo gasps.

"It's is beautiful." Rarity says, studying the complex looking camera with the shining crown teetering on it's edge.

"What happened?" Fluttershy gasps, gawking at the scars littering Royal's back.

"I'm old, Darling. There have been many fights in my time." Royal answers.

"How come none of them are on your Cutie Mark?" Rainbow Dash asks.

"I don't actually know." Royal shrugs. "Can I have my shirt back?" Twilight hands her her shirt. "Since you are all here and know who I am I need to ask for your help. But first." Royal turns Scootaloo's chair and kneels in front of it. "Scootaloo, would you permit me to adopt you? Be the mother that you deserve?"

Scootaloo's face splits with her smile and she jumps into Royal's arms. "Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes! This is the best day ever!"

Tears of joy gather at the corner of Royal's eyes and she squeezes Scootaloo close as she picks herself off the floor,"Yes, it is." She continues to hold Scootaloo and turns to the Mane 6. "So will you girl's help me rebuild the ruins?"

"What's in it for us?" Pinky Pie asks.

"Pinky!" Her friends yells.

"No, it's alright." Royal pulls a bag full of bits from thin air. "I'm also an excellent cook."

Royal and Pinky smile at each other before bursting into laughter. "You called my bluff. I'll help!" Pinky giggles, sliding under the table only to suddenly rise up beside Royal. "Can I keep the fake money?" She snatches up the bag of chocolate bits.

"I'll help too." Rarity declares. "You helped and took care of my sister.

"Me too." Apple Jack says.

"You already know I'm in." Twilight joins.

"Sure, whatever." Rainbow agrees, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I-It's too scary out here for me." Fluttershy says, hiding in her mane again. "Sorry."

"Crap!" Royal exclaims.

"You forgot didn't you." Scootaloo says.

"Forgot what?" Twilight asks.

"To lift the spell." Royal says.

"Who'd you put a spell on?" Fluttershy asks.

"All of this side of Equis."